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I have taking my Bromelain in a Quercetin & Bromelain combo pill for some time. I also was taking Avonex(Interferon Beta 1a) for the last 10 years with very GOOD results.
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http://www.swansonvitamins.com/SW733/ItemDetail?n=0.
It seemed to be a good combo at the time and this abstract seems to say it was a GREAT choice for me.!!!

The study is aimed to determine the role of quercetin (3,3'4',5,7-pentahydroxy flavone), alone and in combination with human interferon-beta (IFN-beta), in modulating the immune response(s) of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) isolated from multiple sclerosis (MS) patients and from normal healthy subjects. PBMC proliferation in the presence or absence of these drugs was determined and the production of proinflammatory cytokines (IL-1beta, TNF-alpha), and the ratio of cell migration mediator MMP-9, and its inhibitor, TIMP-1 were assessed in the culture supernatants.

Quercetin reduced, in a dose-dependent manner, the proliferation of PBMC and modulated the level of IL-1beta and TNF-alpha released by PBMC in the culture supernatants.

Quercetin, when combined with IFN-beta, had additive effects in modulating TNF-alpha and MMP-9. These immunomodulatory responses to quercetin were similar between MS patients and healthy control (HC) subjects.

The life extension products use Bioperine which might not be the best way to enhance absorption. It is A way, but might not be the best way. I promise to come back here in the coming weeks and post about this. I'm still reading about it, but Bromelain looks more promising. But, I'm still working on it .........

Ken

It would be really nice to be able to put links in here

If I have included a bad link, google the word "Scholar", click link for "Google Scholar". Search for the name of the paper and author in Google Scholar.

notasperfectasyou wrote:The life extension products use Bioperine which might not be the best way to enhance absorption. It is A way, but might not be the best way. I promise to come back here in the coming weeks and post about this. I'm still reading about it, but Bromelain looks more promising. But, I'm still working on it .........

Ken

LEF - Life Extension Foundation has a NEW way to enhance the absorption of turmeric/cucurmin is is called BCM-95® and it is a root extract of the plant.

They still sell a product that uses piperine to ehance absorption but they claim that the new product is superior.

"As a result, BCM-95® is six-to seven times more bioavailable than ordinary 95% extract. Just one 400 mg dose of this new bioavailability-enhanced turmeric extract is equivalent to taking 2,772 mg of standard “95%” curcumin extract or 2,548 mg of plant-bound curcumin extract with piperine. In the Life Extension human trial, BCM-95® delivered 6.93 times more curcumin to the bloodstream than the ordinary standalone curcumin product and 6.37 times more curcumin to the bloodstream than the plant-bound curcumin extract with piperine."

Cocoa, a product consumed since 600 BC, is now a subject of increasing interest because of its antioxidant properties, which are mainly attributed to the content of flavonoids such as ( - )-epicatechin, catechin and procyanidins. Moreover, recent findings suggest a regulatory effect of cocoa on the immune cells implicated in innate and acquired immunity. Cocoa exerts regulatory activity on the secretion of inflammatory mediators from macrophages and other leucocytes in vitro. In addition, emerging data from in vivo studies support an immunomodulating effect. Long-term cocoa intake in rats affects both intestinal and systemic immune function. Studies in this line suggest that high-dose cocoa intake in young rats favours the T helper 1 (Th1) response and increases intestinal gammadelta T lymphocyte count, whereas the antibody-secreting response decreases. The mechanisms involved in this activity are uncertain; nonetheless, because redox-sensitive pathways control immune cell function, the action of cocoa flavonoids on modulating cell signalling and gene expression deserves investigation.

Fe deficiency is a public-health problem worldwide, and effective measures for preventing Fe deficiency are needed. The aim of the present study was to determine the bioavailability of Fe in cocoa using the Hb regeneration efficiency (HRE) method. Thirty-five F344/N male weanling rats were fed a low-Fe diet for 4 weeks to deplete body Fe stores. Then, four groups of seven animals each were repleted for 20 d using a modified AIN-93G diet fortified with ferrous sulphate, ferric citrate or two brands of cocoa powder to provide a total dietary Fe concentration of 20 mg/kg. As a negative control, seven rats were maintained on the low-Fe diet. The HRE were 0.733, 0.350, 0.357 and 0.336 for ferrous sulphate, ferric citrate and the two brands of cocoa powder, respectively. The relative biological values (RBV), defined as the ratio of the sample HRE to that of ferrous sulphate, were 0.478, 0.488 and 0.459 for ferric citrate and the two brands of cocoa powder, respectively. The Fe bioavailability of cocoa was significantly less than that of ferrous sulphate and was similar to that of ferric citrate. The difference in Fe bioavailability between the two brands of cocoa powder was negligible. When the negative control was used to correct the data, estimates of the RBV derived from Hb gain were similar to those derived from the HRE. These results suggest that cocoa is a significant source of moderately bioavailable Fe.

increasing th1 response and iron load sounds a pretty bad combo. And cacao dilates the vasculature and lowers blood pressure. Mine are both currently highly dilated and low due to pregnancy so it seems as though enhancing these aspects is a bad idea.

OBJECTIVE: There is substantial evidence supporting the role of interferon (IFN)-gamma-producing T helper (T(H)) 1 and interleukin (IL)-17-expressing T(H)17 lymphocytes in multiple sclerosis (MS) and its animal model, experimental allergic encephalomyelitis (EAE). However, to date little is known about the potential cooperative interplay between these 2 cytokines. In the current study, we sought to evaluate the frequency of IFN-gamma-expressing T(H)17 lymphocytes in MS and EAE, and study their recruitment into the central nervous system (CNS). METHODS: Human T(H)17 lymphocytes were expanded in vitro from the blood of healthy controls and relapsing MS patients using IL-23. Immune cell migration to the CNS was assessed in vitro with primary cultures of human blood-brain barrier (BBB)-derived endothelial cells, and in vivo in EAE mice. RESULTS: We demonstrate that in response to IL-23, human memory lymphocytes expand into a T(H)17 phenotype, with a subpopulation of cells simultaneously expressing IFN-gamma and IL-17. We note that lymphocytes obtained from the blood of relapsing MS patients have an increased propensity to expand into IFN-gamma-producing T(H)17 cells and identify numerous T lymphocytes coexpressing IL-17 and IFN-gamma in brain tissue of MS patients. We also find lymphocytes expressing both the T(H)1- and the T(H)17-associated transcription factors ROR gamma t and T-bet, in situ and in vitro. We further provide in vitro and in vivo evidence that IFN-gamma(+) T(H)17 lymphocytes preferentially cross the human BBB and accumulate in the CNS of mice during the effector phase of EAE. INTERPRETATION: Our data underscore the involvement of IFN-gamma(+) T(H)17 lymphocytes in the pathology of MS and EAE and their preferential recruitment into the CNS during inflammatory events.

This is very interesting. There is actually a study trying to link cocoa to MS, though the text of the study isn't available on PubMed, but here is the abstract.

Multiple sclerosis and possible relationship to cocoa: a hypothesis.

Maas AG, Hogenhuis LA.

The hypothesis presented in this paper suggests that MS may be caused by an allergic or other adverse reaction to certain foods, mostly cocoa products, cola, and coffee. Many MS patients have one or more manifestations of other well known reactions to those foods, such as migraine, urticaria, or gastrointestinal disturbances.

PMID: 2955724 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

I have to admit that I was a huge chocolate junkie before my diagnosis.

ikulo wrote:This is very interesting. There is actually a study trying to link cocoa to MS, though the text of the study isn't available on PubMed, but here is the abstract.

Multiple sclerosis and possible relationship to cocoa: a hypothesis.

Maas AG, Hogenhuis LA.

The hypothesis presented in this paper suggests that MS may be caused by an allergic or other adverse reaction to certain foods, mostly cocoa products, cola, and coffee. Many MS patients have one or more manifestations of other well known reactions to those foods, such as migraine, urticaria, or gastrointestinal disturbances.

PMID: 2955724 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

I have to admit that I was a huge chocolate junkie before my diagnosis.

The hypothesis presented in this paper suggests that MS may be caused by an allergic or other adverse reaction to certain foods, mostly cocoa products, cola, and coffee. Many MS patients have one or more manifestations of other well known reactions to those foods, such as migraine, urticaria, or gastrointestinal disturbances.

I think in relatively modest doses chocolate is probably fine but I was drinking about 60grams a day of 100% pure, unsweetened organic cacao as a replacement for my cafe latte at the start of pregnancy. I also had a few bites of sweeter dark chocolate here and there. Several days after starting this daily drink consumption my walking deteriorated. So I stopped the cacao and my walking then improved. I discovered I was pregnant and resumed cacao in more modest quantities. Gradually modest turned to moderate! My walking again got worse. Initially I thought this was just pregnancy. About 3 weeks ago I started drinking greedy quantities of cacao. An array of old symptoms almost immediately flared up. Within 48 hours of stopping cacao they had calmed down again.
I don't want to put people off modest cacao consumption but I really wouldn't recommend drinking 100s of grams of 100% cacao on a daily basis, perhaps especially if one is pregnant! Cacao is very iron rich and clearly modulates the immune system in ways which may very well not be beneficial to people with MS. I'm sure it's extremely healthy for those with cardio-vascular issues.

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